diff --git a/cmd/cron.go b/cmd/cron.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c3eecb0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/cron.go
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+/*
+Copyright © 2021 NAME HERE <EMAIL ADDRESS>
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+package cmd
+
+import (
+	"github.com/cupcakearmy/autorestic/internal"
+	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
+)
+
+// cronCmd represents the cron command
+var cronCmd = &cobra.Command{
+	Use:   "cron",
+	Short: "Run cron job for automated backups",
+	Long:  `Intended to be mainly triggered by an automated system like systemd or crontab. For each location checks if a cron backup is due and runs it.`,
+	Run: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) {
+		err := internal.RunCron()
+		cobra.CheckErr(err)
+	},
+}
+
+func init() {
+	rootCmd.AddCommand(cronCmd)
+}
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index b0202ff..6befd16 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/blang/semver/v4 v4.0.0
 	github.com/buger/goterm v1.0.0
 	github.com/mitchellh/go-homedir v1.1.0
+	github.com/robfig/cron v1.2.0
 	github.com/spf13/cobra v1.1.3
 	github.com/spf13/viper v1.7.1
 )
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 314d040..e27c519 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -151,6 +151,8 @@ github.com/prometheus/common v0.4.0/go.mod h1:TNfzLD0ON7rHzMJeJkieUDPYmFC7Snx/y8
 github.com/prometheus/procfs v0.0.0-20181005140218-185b4288413d/go.mod h1:c3At6R/oaqEKCNdg8wHV1ftS6bRYblBhIjjI8uT2IGk=
 github.com/prometheus/procfs v0.0.0-20190507164030-5867b95ac084/go.mod h1:TjEm7ze935MbeOT/UhFTIMYKhuLP4wbCsTZCD3I8kEA=
 github.com/prometheus/tsdb v0.7.1/go.mod h1:qhTCs0VvXwvX/y3TZrWD7rabWM+ijKTux40TwIPHuXU=
+github.com/robfig/cron v1.2.0 h1:ZjScXvvxeQ63Dbyxy76Fj3AT3Ut0aKsyd2/tl3DTMuQ=
+github.com/robfig/cron v1.2.0/go.mod h1:JGuDeoQd7Z6yL4zQhZ3OPEVHB7fL6Ka6skscFHfmt2k=
 github.com/rogpeppe/fastuuid v0.0.0-20150106093220-6724a57986af/go.mod h1:XWv6SoW27p1b0cqNHllgS5HIMJraePCO15w5zCzIWYg=
 github.com/rogpeppe/go-internal v1.3.0/go.mod h1:M8bDsm7K2OlrFYOpmOWEs/qY81heoFRclV5y23lUDJ4=
 github.com/russross/blackfriday/v2 v2.0.1/go.mod h1:+Rmxgy9KzJVeS9/2gXHxylqXiyQDYRxCVz55jmeOWTM=
diff --git a/internal/cron.go b/internal/cron.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1aa576f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/cron.go
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+package internal
+
+func RunCron() error {
+	c := GetConfig()
+	for _, l := range c.Locations {
+		err := l.RunCron()
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
diff --git a/internal/location.go b/internal/location.go
index 181e12b..898fd01 100644
--- a/internal/location.go
+++ b/internal/location.go
@@ -5,6 +5,10 @@ import (
 	"io/ioutil"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/cupcakearmy/autorestic/internal/lock"
+	"github.com/robfig/cron"
 )
 
 type HookArray = []string
@@ -163,3 +167,26 @@ func (l Location) Restore(to, from string, force bool) error {
 	}
 	return nil
 }
+
+func (l Location) RunCron() error {
+	if l.Cron == "" {
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	schedule, err := cron.ParseStandard(l.Cron)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	last := lock.GetCron("test")
+	fmt.Println(last)
+	next := schedule.Next(time.Unix(last, 0))
+	fmt.Println(next)
+	now := time.Now()
+	if now.After(next) {
+		fmt.Println("Running")
+		lock.SetCron("test", now.Unix())
+	} else {
+		fmt.Println("Not due yet")
+	}
+	return nil
+}
diff --git a/internal/lock/lock.go b/internal/lock/lock.go
index b90ddbd..d2f7d9c 100644
--- a/internal/lock/lock.go
+++ b/internal/lock/lock.go
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ func getLock() *viper.Viper {
 	return lock
 }
 
-func set(locked bool) error {
+func setLock(locked bool) error {
 	lock := getLock()
 	if locked {
 		running := lock.GetBool("running")
@@ -43,10 +43,20 @@ func set(locked bool) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+func GetCron(location string) int64 {
+	lock := getLock()
+	return lock.GetInt64("cron." + location)
+}
+
+func SetCron(location string, value int64) {
+	lock.Set("cron."+location, value)
+	lock.WriteConfigAs(file)
+}
+
 func Lock() error {
-	return set(true)
+	return setLock(true)
 }
 
 func Unlock() error {
-	return set(false)
+	return setLock(false)
 }